Moving Day!

We are SO, SO EXCITED -- we're moving!!!

God's provided a new place for our little family to call home! About a month ago, we were investigating the possiblity of buying a foreclosed-upon home that needed a huge amount of repair. In my humble opinion, we probably would have been better off to burn it and start over! (See above picture -- haha, did you think that was our new house?) In the process of checking this place out, we asked a contractor from our church to take a look at it. (He called it a 'money pit', by the way.)

(The above was the well for the foreclosed-upon home. What would happen if a mouse or small animal were to fall in? I don't want to think about that!)

Then this same contractor called us later on, offering us a beautiful place to rent -- for the same cost as our tiny apartment!!!

Thank you, Lord!

So we are moving this weekend into a gorgeous three-bedroom, two-bath home with a garage and lots of space. It is much more than we would ever have been able to afford to rent or buy in this expensive, resort-type area. So these verses from Colossians 4 are running through my head lately:

"...for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need." (Col. 4: 11b-12)


We thank You, Lord, for providing this new place of "prosperity and abundance" for us, however long it lasts... and help us to learn the secret of contentment, wherever You put us in the future!

SPECT results

Remember me writing about Elijah's brain scans awhile back? He had one before and after the hyperbaric oxygen therapy to see if there would be a difference between the two.

Well, we just met with Elijah's doctor on Monday to hear about the results. We were disappointed to hear that the printed report said there were "no significant changes". (We had been hoping for something dramatic that would astonish the rest of our doctors!) What does that wording mean, anyway? No changes at all, or just nothing "significant"? Apparently the doctor who ordered the brain scans would like someone else to read them. So Elijah's scans are going to be sent to a person who is very specialized in reading SPECT brain scans. Maybe they will have a different opinion, but maybe not.

Our doctor also informed us that there is very little medical data out there for children with microcephaly (essentially, a small head because of a brain that didn't grow; in Elijah's case due to his severe injury). She said that some of the lack of changes in the brain scan could be due to microcephaly.

In any case, we're happy that we've been able to see improvement in Elijah's day-to-day life, and hopefully our skeptical medical friends will be able to see those changes, too!

Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers as we take each day at a time and trust the Lord for what's best for Elijah!

tractors and whomping kindergarteners

Here is Elijah, learning about tractors! This one was a present from Great-grandpa W. Thanks, Grandpa!

My (Julie's) Dad has developed a unique talent over the years of parenting 11 children. Elijah's Grandpa K is known to fall asleep at any time and at any place. He is a hard workin' man and needs his sleep! Well, Elijah appears to have inherited the same talent. The day we took this picture, he had skipped his nap (typical) but was just so tired he fell asleep anyway, even with his hands in the cookie tin he was using for a toy. So cute!

(And yes, he is wearing a bib in this picture...leftover from his supper. He is doing really well with eating semi-solid food now!)

P.S. Tonight, Lord willing, we will be discontinuing Elijah's food through the night using the pump. His dietician thinks he is doing great and could "whomp a kindergartener", in her words! Just so the Grandmas can keep track, he is now 36 lbs., and 37.1 inches long. That puts him in the 90-97th percentile for weight, and 50-75th percentile for height.

We are praising Jesus for these things, because we know that often kids like Elijah have trouble gaining weight and growing.

sweetest sound in the world

If you received our Christmas letter, you know that we have been praying to hear Elijah laugh. Maybe you've joined us in those prayers? Either way, we have some exciting news:

Elijah is now laughing!

You might not recognize it as a laugh...it is just a soft sound like someone exhaling breath a few times...but to us it is the greatest miracle!

A few weeks ago, we discovered that Elijah thinks it is fabulously thrilling to fly high in a blanket being swung between two people. That was the first time we heard his precious laughter. Not only did he laugh, he squealed! It made us really happy to hear those little sounds of communication and to find something that he so obviously loves doing. (Todd now calls him an adrenaline junkie, and if you watch the video below, you'll see why!)

Whenever I get Elijah up in the morning, I make a point of being super excited to see him and giving him lots of kisses and love. Would you believe what happened a few days ago? Melting my heart, he laughed when I kissed him; those little soft sounds of his breath. Does life get any better or sweeter? Not in this world, at least!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, we publish the video below. Todd and his brother, Tytus, are swinging Elijah in a blanket. The funniest thing about this video is probably Tytus laughing, but if you listen close, you'll also hear Elijah squealing at least once! Elijah laughs on here, too, but you can't hear it. And the little "doll" in the corner of the couch is a real baby - Elijah's cousin! Enjoy!

o

cousin time

Elijah's cousins (and their mom and dad) were here on New Year's Day! Here is precious little 'A' taking a snooze on the couch, blissfully oblivious to the wild shenanigans going on around her!

Elijah and his older cousin, 'B', got a little sled ride from Todd. Check out all of our snow!! Unfortunately, Elijah didn't like wet snowflakes falling on his face (can't say that I blame him!) so the sled ride lasted about 3 minutes. At least we got pictures, right?

questions from a little heart

We spent Christmas with friends, some old and some new. It was really an enjoyable day, with lots of children running around and good conversation.

Elijah loves, loves, loves to hear other kids talking and playing. We brought a floor-level chair along for him to sit in so he could be in on the fun.

One little five-year-old girl was especially kind to Elijah (actually all the kids were really sweet). Her mom and I were sitting on the floor in the 'kid room' talking, and this little girl was cuddling in her mom's lap. With a sad look on her face, she asked her mom about Elijah. "Why can't he walk? And why does he have to sit in that chair?"

Blink, blink. Suddenly, I felt about to cry. I guess I didn't want this little girl to think of Elijah as someone to be pitied, so I hid my emotions and launched into my standard "Elijah has a big owie, so that's why he can't walk". But on the inside, the little girl's questions were mirrors of my own.

Why, Lord, why?

Why are the other kids running around tearing up the house, while my little boy can only listen to their rowdy play with a happy look on his face? I don't know. I achingly long for heaven sometimes. I wish I could catch a glimpse, a preview, of what's ahead. Wish I could see my son running through the grass, wild with glee, flinging arms and legs recklessly.

Answers are not something we are promised in this life, at least not answers that always make sense to our human minds. The questions may not go away, but "where He is there is freedom" (paraphrase of 2 Cor. 3:17). And if there are cameras in heaven, you can believe I'll be snappin' lots of pics of Elijah running around when we get there! :)